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About Me

My name is Gerrie Wydeven doing-business-as Wydeven Designs. I have been conducting this small GREEN business since 2004. Wydeven Designs, based in the Atlanta, Georgia area, sells CHAIRS, LOVESEATS, CHAISES, SETTEES and other fine, well-constructed refurbished upholstered pieces. I love to travel, cook, take photographs and generally follow style and decor topics as well!

console table

The kind I am looking for is narrow and, yes, placed against a wall. It will not be attached via brackets and I'm not necessarily looking for bracketlike legs. Tables labeled as console tables on Craigslist and other web sources only seem to have the "against the wall" part of the definition in common - many have extensive cabinetry and other utilitarian details.

For my console table, I need it to function as a "buffet table" against a wall not far from seating area. I have purchased (on Craigslist) three round counter height (30") stools that I want to place under the table so they will be out of the way when not needed. I need a table 60" wide and would prefer 14-16" deep so it doesn't extend too far into the space. The mirror I just finished and wrote about here link to my blog entry will be centered over the table.

Today, I visited a great antique and consignment market in Roswell (a suburb of Atlanta) called City Antiques (link to website). I have been here before but today I had a purpose in mind.

This shop is well organized and managed and the displays are artfully done.

I found only two "console table" options that might work but they weren't what I was looking for.

This "barn table" was attractive and might have worked for the space. It is a little more primitive than I want and also a little too wide. I thought it was an interesting piece.

This set actually represents what I am looking for and includes the two counter height stools. The table is also a little deeper than I need and not as wide.

Sweet picture on way out!

I enjoyed my visit to City Antiques and I'm sure I will be back. I did not, however, find that elusive console table and will have to continue my search!

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

For a change, for me, this is a total do-it-yourself posting featuring my favorite paint finish - Annie Sloan Chalk Paint (ASCP) link to website. Most of my projects (approaching 50) are chairs with woodwork but the upholstery work on these is being completed by my professionals - Mr. and Mrs. Lee of Norcross, GA, so I can't fully claim the DIY mantle!

Mirror at sale - good not great price at $75

I picked up up this oversized round mirror at an estate sale two weeks ago for $75.00 - not a great price but a pretty good one for this size, level of detail, beveling on mirror, and overall condition. It is destined for my newly renovated lower level (aka terrace, basement) but has not yet been hung - more on that later.

I got the mirror home and propped it on two sawhorses. My first step is always to clean the surface as well as possible to smooth out the surface and increase the adherence of the paint. Although ASCP claims that it will go over anything, I have had a few instances where I've had difficulties with adherence - usually in small spots. Also, who wants to just cover over all that accumulated dirt and oils and smoke residue that is present on most furniture of any use and vintage.

I use Goof Off link to clean most of my wooden pieces - it works well but does take off some finishes so you want to make sure you are not using it on pieces you are not refinishing.

In deciding how to finish this mirror, I wanted to emphasize the great details on this mirror by highlighting the carvings. Once before I had used the technique of doing an initial coat in a lighter color and than loosely brushing an second layer of graphite over it allowing the deeper crevices to remain white/light - I thought this would work on this piece.

Mirror after first coat of Old Ochre - a darker cream color than Old White providing a little more warmth

Mirror after brushing with Graphite over Old Ochre.

Details

I used clear wax to finish mirror and it is ready to be hung in our newly renovated terrace level.

The mirror is ready to be hung - I really like how it turned out - it almost has a "stone-like" look to it with the Old Ochre and Graphite combination. I have even chosen a place for it to be hung over a narrow console table. Unfortunately, I do not yet have that table and my husband refuses to hang it since it may have to be moved to center later - so it will stand here until that date - hopefully soon!

Friday, August 24, 2012

We started a terrace level (aka basement) home renovation project in early June with a planned for completion in 45-60 days. Here we are 90 days later and it is almost ready to be occupied. There is, of course, a "punch list" that may take some additional days/trips. We did hire a general contractor who had done two earlier good sized renovations/additions for us, so this is definitely not a Do-It-Yourself project.

I plan to show the entire basement in a future posting and talk about what we did and how it was done but this discussion is about the bathroom. I will describe some decisions we made and where we were able to save some money - this may be useful to others contemplating similar remodeling jobs.

The bathroom was part of a 1988 "finished" basement area completed when the house was originally built with dropped ceilings and builder grade tiles, cabinetry and fixtures. The room does have a large shower which has come handy over the years when we have a large crowd.

The various decision points are as follows:

Cabinetry - NEW or REFURBISHED?

Since the original cabinetry was solid wood and a good size and shape, we decided to leave it and paint it the same color as the doors and custom cabinetry that we were incorporating in the other areas of the basement. The color I had selected was a deep charcoal grey! We did add a granite counter top and new sink and bathroom fixtures.

Walls - PAINT or WALLPAPER?

Initially, I couldn't wait to pull down the old wallpaper and just replace it with a clean coat of paint. I had wanted this wallpaper gone for so long. I wrote about my about-face on this blog Wallpaper Selection and again on this one when my originally selected wallpaper was no longer available More Wallpaper Shopping. I did end up with a paper that I loved. at a good price (although it still would have been a lot cheaper to paint).

Flooring and Tile Work - ALL or FLOOR ONLY

We found that you can spend a fortune on tile and that is before someone is paid to install it. The shower area in this room is very large and covered with small 6" white square (cheap) tiles including the floor. The tiles were in good shape showing very little wear which is largely because less than a dozen showers have been taken in this room in the 12 years we've lived here. The cost for replacing the tile in the shower would have been very high so we decided to just do the bathroom floor and the "step-up" to the shower which is visible on the outside. We did decide to install a nice no-edge new shower door which gave it an up-to-date appearance.

Those were the major decision points which had a financial component to them.

Here are some of the ways we saved money - other than those identified above:

1) Bought my own mirror for over vanity. I spent $30 at a garage sale for this mirror and had it painted at the same time as the cabinet in same color.

2) Bought wallpaper from a shop that has an in-stock selection (see my linked blogs on this subject). I was facing over $100 a double-roll before finding the in-stock option. My wallpaper cost $33.00 per double roll which represents quite a big saving for five double-rolls.

3) Bought bathroom fixtures on-line. We found a huge selection and savings of 25-35% at various on-line sources. The fixtures arrived in a few days and are beautiful.

4) Bought floor tile at tile and flooring warehouse in town. They had a lot of low-cost selections and we had no difficulties choosing one we liked.

Installation of Floor

We are very happy with our new bathroom and can't wait to add other accessories to finish the space.

Overall Look - Love the coordination of wallpaper and flooring .

Shower is to right showing new shower door.

My $30 garage sale mirror

Granite counter top and fixtures.

Well, I hope that sharing our story is helpful to those contemplating similar projects. What do you think?

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

I have now been an avid pinterest follower and user for about six months and think it is a great way to store and share ideas. One of the most prolific and useful boards is my Annie Sloan Chalk Paint (ASCP) board - link here. Whenever I am checking out blogs and websites, I keep an eye out for either acknowledged ASCP projects or ones that could be and have accumulated quite a few images that are inspirational to me.

I have been using ASCP for almost a year now and have had at least 40 completed projects. I am working on a round mirror for our newly renovated (but not quite complete) lower level/basement project. I will show a preview on this page - I have not quite figured out how to complete it.

In putting together this posting, I looked for examples of the use of these colors in the pinterest images. Here are some of my favorites!

link to pinterest board - I love the versatility of this color and have used it a couple of time. I have found, however, that is needs a good wax (I would even say dark) to enhance the colors - without the wax, the color was a little bland.

link to pinterest board - This is my favorite color although I've only used it diluted a little with old white. I like it with both clear and dark wax.

link to pinterest board - I am stilling learning how to use this color. Like the CoCo, I have found it to be a little dull directly out of the can. I have added an old white or old ochre highlight and have also used the dark wax to build up the color saturation.

These are my old projects. I haven't found significant use of this color. I must admit that when I first got it, I found that is was more green than grey. I have only used on on these two pieces which turned out beautifully (with clear wax). It helped that the fabric I selected - a lovely English linen - was the perfect color match for the paint.

link to board- Graphite is a great color that I've used quite a bit and am actually going to have to replace soon. I do find that it needs the dark wax (without a clear wax pre-application) to really bring out the dark highlights.

link to board - These are lovely pieces. I have not yet used the blue myself since I do mostly chairs and other upholstered pieces. I think this color lends itself best to large hardcase pieces like this.

link to board - The Old Ochre is a great go-to paint neutral paint for multiple uses. I have used it when I want a darker base than what Old White would give me. The first piece is mine - the color matches well with the darker cream in the rug.

link to board - Old White was my first purchase and my most frequently used color. I am well into my second quart.

Preview of my current work-in-progress - a large round mirror with ornate woodwork. I did the first coat entirely in Old Ochre and brushed it with graphite. I am still thinking about whether to wax (dark or light) and whether to enhance any of the details with more color saturation. This mirror will be the subject of a future posting.

That's it for today's Annie Sloan Chalk Paint musings - what do you think!

Monday, August 20, 2012

Plaids, according to the trend-setters, never go out of style - whether in home decor or clothing and accessories. I have included a number of plaid pieces in my inventory over the years and have them in my home as well. I am always, however, just a little nervous about plaids because in my experience people are sometimes afraid of them. This "trend-search" was spurred by my thoughts and experiences with plaids.

Tartan plaids have been hailed as very stylish by no less than Ralph Lauren who has over the years featured a lot of these warm, cozy plaids in his furniture and accessory lines. As I credit him with keeping crisp blue and white alive throughout the years, I give him a lot of credit for the continued interest in plaids.

Traditional but look-at-me bold, cozy yet totally
cool, tartan has made its mark on furniture, accessories, and fashion alike.

I found this interesting article about using plaids - it is longer than this excerpt - I pulled out mostly the items dealing with using plaids in upholstery - for full article - link

Plaid never seems to go out of style in home
furnishings or fashion. It is unsurprising, because plaid is extremely
versatile. It can evoke either country style or chic sophistication. Here are
some design ideas and products to help you to use plaid to decorate your home.

Plaid upholstery looks attractive on a chair or
sofa. For a French country look, upholster a sofa in a small blue and white
gingham pattern. Accessorize with a lacy coverlet or cushions.

For an unusual look, try an unexpected color
combination like orange and black plaid upholstery. The contrast of a
traditional pattern with unique colors is very eye-catching. A chair or sofa
which is upholstered in orange and black plaid fabric can create a focal point
in a room.

Other plaid soft furnishings can give a room
color and warmth. For instance, a plaid coverlet or bedspread in rich red and
gold colors makes a room look cozy. Replace dark plaid furnishings with lighter
cotton blends in the spring and summer. Plaid is so versatile that it's easy to
decorate your home with a plaid for all seasons.

Here are some plaid chairs from my current and recent inventory - I love them all!

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Today was a somewhat cooler-than-usual day to do "garage sale-ing" in the area. The morning was overcast with a hint of rain in the air. My friend and I reviewed state and garage sale options (craigslist and Atlanta Journal Constitution listings) to map out the morning run. As all regular shoppers know, it is really important to get to the sales as close as possible to when they open (or even slightly before) so picking those potentially-productive first stops and the overall route is critical to success.One of the great things about running around the area going to estate and garage sales is the opportunity to check out new neighborhoods and homes. A neighborhood not six miles from my home that I have passed 100's of times was running a community-wide yard sale so we thought we'd do a quick drive-by and check it out. Neither of us had been inside the community gates and we had no expectations of either the sale or the neighborhood assuming it was an apartment complex (not usually the best venue for sales). We expected to be in and out quickly.We entered the gates into a charming neighborhood of mostly single-family homes (some townhouses) on smallish lots but with a lot of individualized character. Each home was quite unique which is unusual in subdivisions in the South. Typically, a builder comes in, clears the land, and builds similar-type homes very quickly. Although the overall age of the area seemed to be in the same 2-3 year window (about eight years ago), it looked like many different builders/owners came in and custom designed homes with great front doors, rocking-chair porches and landscaping. We were impressed!I did not find a website for the community - but found this on a realtor page:

This gated community located in prestigious Roswell, Georgia is just minutes from GA 400, Northpoint Mall, restaurants and important business centers. Enjoy the beauty of this established neighborhood with welcoming streetscapes, charming homes, walk able schools, swim and tennis, and fabulous views of Kennesaw Mountain.

There were over 30 homes participating in the sale so we were able to walk up and gawk at the homes and gardens. We loved the area and found that the sales were pretty good too. My friend bought a wonderful gray and cream oil picture of a bunny that I wish I had photographed. I bought a small lamp and some sheets - nothing too exciting but the visit to the neighborhood was wonderful

We did make a few more stops but nothing compared to our first one in the neighborhood. I did, however, buy an oversized mirror for my new basement space which I plan to refinish with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint (ASCP) in Graphite and Old White!

Loved this house - great front porch and landscaping

Sale on right had many samples and decorative items at great prices. I was very tempted by several display shelves and a daybed but couldn't figure out where to place it in my home.